Pakistan’s much hyped JF-17 fighter jet with Chinese frame and Russian engine costs…, much cheaper than India’s…

New Delhi: Tensions between India and Pakistan are at an all-time high following the ceasefire. During Operation Sindoor, Pakistan attacked several Indian border towns with drones and missiles. India also retaliated strongly and destroyed many Pakistani targets.

In the meantime, there is a lot of discussion about India’s Rafale fighter jet and Pakistan’s JF-17 Thunder fighter jet. India has purchased Rafale from France, while the JF-17 Thunder has been jointly developed by China and Pakistan. There is a significant price difference between the two. Rafale is considered the second most expensive fighter in the world after the F-22, while the price of JF-17 Thunder is comparatively much lower.

The JF-17 Thunder is considered the backbone of Pakistan’s Air Force alongside the F-16 fighter. It was built by the Chinese company Avic Chengdu Aircraft Co Ltd. Shares of this company rose by 53 percent in five days during the conflict.

The JF-17 Thunder is a fourth-generation lightweight, single-engine multirole fighter. It has been jointly developed by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and China’s Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC).

The JF-17 can be used for multiple roles, including interception, ground attack, anti-ship, and aerial reconnaissance. The JF-17 can deploy diverse ordnance, including air-to-air, air-to-surface, and anti-ship missiles, guided and unguided bombs, and a 23 mm GSh-23-2 twin-barrel autocannon. Powered by a Guizhou WS-13 or Klimov RD-93 afterburning turbofan, it has a top speed of Mach 1.6. The JF-17 was inducted in the PAF in February 2010.

Although a lot of makeshift technology has been used in this fighter, it features a Chinese airframe, a Western avionics system, and a Russian engine. Its biggest advantage is that it is very cheap. This is why countries that cannot afford expensive fighters like Rafale, F-16, and Eurofighter Typhoon opt for JF-17 Thunder. These include Azerbaijan, Myanmar, and Nigeria.

According to media reports, the price of one unit is 25 million dollars, which is about 2.13 billion rupees, while the price of Rafale is around 135 million dollars or 11 billion rupees.

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